Ye Zhaoying

In this Chinese name, the family name is Ye.

Ye Zhaoying (simplified Chinese: 叶钊颖; traditional Chinese: 葉釗穎; pinyin: Yè Zhāoyǐng; born 7 May 1974) is a retired badminton player from Hangzhou, China.^[2] Officially ranked as the number one women's singles player in the world for the first time in December 1995, she lost and regained that ranking several times during her career. Her best years as a player overlapped those of the slightly older Susi Susanti and Bang Soo-hyun, in what some see as a "golden" era in women's badminton.

Ye Zhaoying 叶钊颖
Personal information
Country	China
Born	(1974-05-07) 7 May 1974 (age 51) Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
Height	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Weight	65 kg (143 lb)
Handedness	Right
Women's singles
Highest ranking	1 (January 1996[1])
Medal record Women's badminton Representing  China Olympic Games 2000 Sydney Women's singles World Championships 1997 Glasgow Women's singles 1995 Lausanne Women's singles 1993 Birmingham Women's singles World Cup 1995 Jakarta Women's singles 1997 Yogyakarta Women's singles 1993 New Delhi Women's singles 1994 Ho Chi Minh Women's singles 1996 Jakarta Women's singles Sudirman Cup 1997 Glasgow Mixed team 1995 Lausanne Mixed team 1993 Birmingham Mixed team Uber Cup 2000 Kuala Lumpur Women's team 1998 Hong Kong Women's team 1992 Kuala Lumpur Women's team 1996 Hong Kong Women's team 1994 Jakarta Women's team Asian Games 1998 Bangkok Women's team 1994 Hiroshima Women's singles 1994 Hiroshima Women's team Asian Championships 1999 Kuala Lumpur Women's singles 1998 Bangkok Women's singles 1995 Beijing Women's singles 1994 Shanghai Women's singles 1992 Kuala Lumpur Women's singles Asian Cup 1994 Beijing Women's singles

She retired after the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games, and in 2002, she started a new career as a golfer, trained at the Tian An Golf Club.^[2] She married former Chinese footballer and top-scoring striker Hao Haidong in summer 2019.^[3]

Career

Her main achievements include winning the World Grand Prix Finals in 1995, 1997 and 1999, the IBF World Championships in 1995 and 1997, and the IBF World Cup in 1995. She played on Chinese teams that won the Uber Cup in 1992, 1998 and 2000 and the Sudirman Cup in 1995 and 1997. She won the prestigious All-England title in 1997, 1998 and 1999.

Her other titles include: Asian Badminton Championships in 1992, 1994, 1995, 1998, 1999; Japan Open in 1993, 1996, 1999; Indonesia Open in 1992, 1993; Denmark Open in 1993; Hong Kong Open in 1993; Asian Cup of badminton in 1994; China Open in 1995; Swedish Open in 1995; US Open in 1995; Singapore Open in 1992, 1998, 1999; Thailand Open in 2000 . She was a member of the Chinese Women's Badminton Team that won the Asian Games in 1998. In addition, she earned a bronze medal in the Sydney Olympic Games in 2000, having been upset in the quarterfinals of the '96 Games in Atlanta. Ye Zhaoying was elected to the World Badminton Hall of Fame in 2009.

Personal life

Ye married former top footballer Hao Haidong in summer 2019.^[3] As of present, she and Hao reside in Málaga, Spain.^[4]

Political views and controversy

On the 31st anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests in 2020, Hao uploaded a video calling for the overthrow of the Chinese Communist Party.^[5] Afterwards the couple's Weibo accounts were deleted; their online profiles on major portals in China – Sina Sports, Tencent Sport and Baidu – have also been deleted. They moved to Spain, living in exile.^[3]

Two years later, in an interview with TV 2 Sport with Camilla Martin, Ye stated that the Chinese coaches ordered her to lose in the semi-final match at the 2000 Olympics, in order for her teammate, Gong Zhichao to win the title for China, as she was thought to be able to defeat Martin in the final. She ended up losing in 2 sets to Gong in the semi-final, and went on to win the bronze medal after defeating Dai Yun in the playoff. In the interview, Ye strongly criticized the Chinese system for doing so, and stated that if she had won the match in the semi-final and lost in the final, "all of China" would have considered her a "traitor", adding on that her previous victories would have been "meaningless", had she not won the gold for China.^[6]

In response, the Chinese embassy in Denmark issued a statement, stating that Ye "has always been anti-China. Her statements don't deserve a response."^[6]

After the entire incident in 2020, family and friends have turned their backs on Hao and Ye, and that they have been blocked by their former teammates on Chinese social messaging platform WeChat.^[6]

Achievements

Olympic Games

Women's singles

Year	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result
2000	The Dome, Sydney, Australia	Dai Yun	8–11, 11–2, 11–6	Bronze

World Championships

Women's singles

Year	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result
1997	Scotstoun Centre, Glasgow, Scotland	Gong Zhichao	12–11, 11–8	Gold
1995	Malley Sports Centre, Lausanne, Switzerland	Han Jingna	11–7, 11–0	Gold
1993	National Indoor Arena, Birmingham, England	Susi Susanti	10–12, 10–12	Bronze

World Cup

Women's singles

Year	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result
1997	Among Rogo Sports Hall, Yogyakarta, Indonesia	Susi Susanti	8–11, 5–11	Silver
1996	Istora Senayan, Jakarta, Indonesia	Susi Susanti	2–11, 11–9, 2–11	Bronze
1995	Istora Senayan, Jakarta, Indonesia	Susi Susanti	12–9, 2–11, 12–9	Gold
1994	Phan Đình Phùng Indoor Stadium, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam	Bang Soo-hyun	2–11, 4–11	Bronze
1993	Indira Gandhi Arena, New Delhi, India	Lim Xiaoqing	2–11, 11–2, 6–11	Bronze

Asian Games

Women's singles

Year	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result
1994	Tsuru Memorial Gymnasium, Hiroshima, Japan	Bang Soo Hyun	12–10, 8–11, 3–11	Bronze

Asian Championships

Women's singles

Year	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result
1999	Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia	Zhang Ning	11–8, 11–5	Gold
1998	Bangkok, Thailand	Gong Zhichao	11–5, 13–12	Gold
1995	Beijing, China	Yao Yan	11–2, 11–0	Gold
1994	Shanghai Gymnasium, Shanghai, China	Liu Yuhong	11–4, 12–10	Gold
1992	Cheras Indoor Stadium, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia	Zhou Lei	12–10, 11–2	Gold

Asian Cup

Women's singles

Year	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result
1994	Beijing, China	Han Jingna	11–6, 9–12, 11–3	Gold

IBF World Grand Prix (21 titles, 21 runners-up)

The World Badminton Grand Prix sanctioned by International Badminton Federation (IBF) since 1983.

Women's singles

Year	Tournament	Opponent	Score	Result
2000	Thailand Open	Zhou Mi	11–5, 11–0	Winner
2000	Japan Open	Gong Zhichao	7–11, 3–11	Runner-up
1999	Grand Prix Finals	Dai Yun	11–4, 6–11, 11–9	Winner
1999	Singapore Open	Gong Zhichao	11–5, 5–11, 11–7	Winner
1999	Japan Open	Gong Zhichao	1–11, 11–5, 11–6	Winner
1999	All England Open	Dai Yun	9–11, 11–5, 11–1	Winner
1998	Denmark Open	Camilla Martin	10–13, 8–11	Runner-up
1998	Singapore Open	Susi Susanti	11–5, 6–11, 11–2	Winner
1998	Swiss Open	Camilla Martin	9–12, 8–11	Runner-up
1998	All England Open	Zhang Ning	11–5, 11–8	Winner
1998	Japan Open	Gong Zhichao	1–11, 4–11	Runner-up
1997	Grand Prix Finals	Susi Susanti	11–4, 11–4	Winner
1997	Malaysia Open	Susi Susanti	5–11, 7–11	Runner-up
1997	Swiss Open	Camilla Martin	12–9, 6–11, 5–11	Runner-up
1997	All England Open	Gong Zhichao	11–3, 11–1	Winner
1997	Korea Open	Gong Zhichao	6–11, 12–10, 11–4	Winner
1996	Grand Prix Finals	Susi Susanti	4–11, 1–11	Runner-up
1996	All England Open	Bang Soo-hyun	1–11, 1–11	Runner-up
1996	Japan Open	Susi Susanti	11–7, 11–8	Winner
1996	Chinese Taipei Open	Susi Susanti	5–11, 2–11	Runner-up
1995	Grand Prix Finals	Lim Xiaoqing	12–10, 8–11, 11–8	Winner
1995	China Open	Bang Soo-hyun	11–5, 11–0	Winner
1995	U.S. Open	Bang Soo-hyun	12–10, 3–11, 11–8	Winner
1995	Swedish Open	Lim Xiaoqing	11–6, 11–6	Winner
1994	Grand Prix Finals	Susi Susanti	11–4, 10–12, 4–11	Runner-up
1994	China Open	Bang Soo-hyun	8–11, 8–11	Runner-up
1994	Malaysia Open	Susi Susanti	3–11, 8–11	Runner-up
1994	All England Open	Susi Susanti	5–11, 9–11	Runner-up
1994	Japan Open	Susi Susanti	6–11, 12–10, 8–11	Runner-up
1993	Grand Prix Finals	Susi Susanti	3–11, 9–12	Runner-up
1993	Hong Kong Open	Han Jingna	10–12, 11–7, 11–1	Winner
1993	China Open	Han Jingna	10–12, 1–11	Runner-up
1993	Denmark Open	Liu Yuhong	11–8, 11–1	Winner
1993	German Open	Susi Susanti	6–11, 8–11	Runner-up
1993	Indonesia Open	Susi Susanti	11–9, 12–11	Winner
1993	French Open	Yao Yan	7–11, 11–5, 5–11	Runner-up
1993	Japan Open	Bang Soo-hyun	11–6, 11–5	Winner
1992	Singapore Open	Han Jingna	8–11, 11–2, 11–3	Winner
1992	Indonesia Open	Sarwendah Kusumawardhani	11–7, 11–6	Winner
1992	Japan Open	Susi Susanti	2–11, 0–11	Runner-up

Women's doubles

Year	Tournament	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
1997	Swiss Open	Han Jingna	Ge Fei Gu Jun	15–9, 2–15, 11–15	Runner-up
1995	Swedish Open	Han Jingna	Kim Mee-hyang Kim Shin-young	15–12, 12–15, 8–15	Runner-up

Record against selected opponents

Record against year-end Finals finalists, World Championships semi-finalists, and Olympic quarter-finalists.

Players Matches Results Difference Won Lost Dai Yun 10 9 1 +8 Gong Ruina 4 3 1 +2 Gong Zhichao 12 9 3 +6 Han Jingna 6 5 1 +4 Tang Jiuhong 1 0 1 –1 Yao Yan 3 1 2 –1 Zhang Ning 4 4 0 +4 Zhou Mi 2 2 0 +2 Huang Chia-chi 3 3 0 +3 Camilla Martin 9 6 3 +3 Mette Sørensen 3 3 0 +3

Players Matches Results Difference Won Lost Helen Troke 1 1 0 +1 Xu Huaiwen 3 3 0 +3 Sarwendah Kusumawardhani 2 2 0 +2 Susi Susanti 34 11 23 –12 Yasuko Mizui 5 5 0 +5 / Mia Audina 8 5 3 +2 Bang Soo-hyun 17 9 8 +1 Kim Ji-hyun 14 11 3 +8 Lee Heung-soon 4 3 1 +2 Lim Xiaoqing 4 2 2 0 Somharuthai Jaroensiri 5 5 0 +5